Eating Through the Alphabet – Part 1

If possible, it is best to obtain vitamins from foods, rather than supplements. A well- balanced diet, with a wide variety of fresh, frozen and dried fruit and vegetables and their juices, whole grains, beans and legumes and nuts and seeds, can meet most vitamin needs, using the menu, rather than a capsule.

How foods are cooked have a big impact on their nutrient content. Vitamins are sensitive to heat and air exposure (especially vitamin C and all the B vitamins, such as B12, niacin, thiamin, B6 and folic acid). The longer the exposure and the higher the temperature, the more nutrients are lost.

Liquids used for cooking can wash away vitamins that are water-soluble. If the liquid is served as part of the meal, such as in soups or stews, rice or grains, then the consumer can get some of the vitamins washed into the liquid. If the liquid is discarded, such as when straining cooked vegetables prior to serving the vitamins are discarded along with the liquid.

When cooking fruit, vegetables and grains, you should select the process that will minimize the time, temperature, and liquid for processing. This includes both cooking and holding procedures.

For small batches or individual portions, microwave cooking effectively preserves nutrients. Microwaving requires minimal liquid and short cooking time. Steaming also minimizes time and liquid amounts. Simmering, stir frying, sautéing with juice, broth or water and grilling can help to retain nutrients. If practical, cover foods while cooking. This holds in the heat, reducing cooking time, and “traps” some of the nutrients that dissolve in cooking steam.

To preserve nutrients while preparing fruits and vegetables, minimize the surface area of the food, to minimize exposure to air. This translates into using whole fruits or vegetables, such as baking apples or uncut green beans or, when practical, choosing thicker slices or cuts.

When possible, cook and/or serve unpeeled fruit and vegetables. If you need to peel produce to be served raw, peel as close to serving as possible. Use leftover cooking water for soups, sauces, pasta cooking or salad dressings; this saves on water and can add flavor and nutrients.

 It is not true that, for the best nutrition, we should eat all vegetables and fruit uncooked. Although heat from cooking can destroy a portion of certain heat-sensitive vitamins, this does not mean that no nutrients remain in vegetables after they are cooked. If vegetables and fruit are cooked just until they are crisp-tender, not overcooked and limp, there is still plenty of nutrition.

Here are some suggestions for retaining maximum amounts of vitamins in prepared foods:

Wash, but don’t soak, fresh vegetables to help retain the B and C vitamins and they contain. Use a sharp knife when cutting or shredding fresh vegetables, because vitamins A and C are reduced when vegetable tissues are bruised. The vitamin content of frozen green beans will be higher than those fresh ones you’ve kept in your refrigerator for a week.

Don’t thaw frozen vegetables before cooking. Store frozen meat at 0 degrees F or lower immediately after purchase to prevent loss of quality. Outer green leaves of lettuce and cabbage, though coarser than inner ones, have higher calcium, iron, and vitamin A content. Finely shred them and add to soups and salads

There are more vitamins in converted and parboiled rice than in polished rice, and brown rice has a higher vitamin and fiber content than white. Frozen foods that you can steam in their bags offer more vitamins, and all frozen foods are preferable to canned ones.

Stainless steel, glass, and enamel are the best utensils for retaining nutrients while cooking. The shortest cooking time and the smallest amount of water are the least destructive to nutrients. Milk and juice in glass or clear containers can lose riboflavin and Vitamin C as well as vitamins A and D, unless kept out of the light. Bake and boil potatoes in their skins to get the most vitamins from them. Use cooking water from vegetables to make soups, juices from meats for gravies, and syrups from canned fruits to make desserts.

Some vitamins, such as C and E, are found whole, in their entirety, in foods. Some vitamins, such as D and K, are put together by the body from building blocks in the food. There are currently thirteen vitamins needed by the body: Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and biotin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folacin). Each vitamin has a specific job. The best way to provide the daily requirement of essential vitamins is to plan a balanced diet that contains a variety of foods from a food guide pyramid. For an overview of the American, Mediterranean and Asian food guide pyramids, visit the Oldways Preservation Trust web site, www.oldwayspt.org

Here are some good food sources of vitamins:

• Milk, cheese, yogurt or kefir made from whole, low fat or nonfat milk
• Meat: lean chicken, fish, beef, pork, lamb
• Legumes: beans and peas
• Nuts and seeds
• Fruits, fresh, frozen or dried
• Vegetables, fresh or frozen or dried
• Whole grain breads and cereals and enriched grain products
• Soy foods, especially enriched or processed with calcium
• White or brown rice
• Whole wheat, vegetable soy or enriched pasta

Look at your meal selections on a daily basis. If meals have a variety of colors and the fruits and vegetables have pleasing textures you know you are planning an “alphabet soup” of healthy menus.

Please contact the writer at foodprof2@gmail.com for nutrition and health questions or ideas for future columns.